Blog Tour ‘Dear Thing’ by Julie Cohen – Review + Europe & UK Giveaway

The day is finally here! We are thrilled and so honored to be the second stop of Julie Cohen’s ‘Dear Thing’ Blog Tour. ‘Dear Thing’ is a wonderful, emotional novel and we must say we weren’t surprised to hear it’s a 2014 Richard and Judy Summer Book Club pick. Congrats Julie, well deserved! And to you our lovely blog readers, read our review and make sure you enter the fantastic giveaway (details found at the end of the post). Many thanks to Julie and Tess Henderson for the opportunity to be part of this tour and for sponsoring the great giveaway. Also, make sure you visit the other tour hosts for more great content and chances to win this amazing book!

Blurb:

After years of watching her best friends Ben and Claire try for a baby, Romily offered to give them the one thing they most wanted.But Romily wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming feelings that have taken hold of her and which threaten to ruin her friendship with Ben and Claire – and even destroy their marriage.Now there are three friends, two mothers and only one baby, and an impossible decision to make . . .

Our review:

*Copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review*

OMG what a journey! ‘Dear Thing’ can be only described as a roller coaster, swinging you up and down, throwing you from side to side, evoking all these emotions you never thought a book would get out of you.

I knew pretty much just by reading the blurb this was going to be an emotional read, but honestly, I was not prepared for this. And even now, while I am writing this review, I can’t help but have teary eyes.

‘Dear Thing’ is definitely one of the strangest books I’ve ever read, and I don’t mean strange in a bad way. It tells the story of Claire and Ben, a loving, (almost) perfect couple who seem to have it all. Except, the most important thing in life – children. No matter how hard they try, how many IVFs they have, they seem to be out of luck. That’s until Romily, Ben’s best friend for years suggest another plan. She wants to be their surrogate, letting them have the only and most precious thing in life they seem to miss.

Of course, many things will go wrong, and there’s the topic of Romily’s ex boyfriend (the father of her 7 year old daughter, Posie) but there’s also lots of drama with the new (and very awkward position) Romily, Ben and Claire get themselves into.

As you can assume, it’s a hard book, speaking about difficult topics, about being in a position when you have to make some choices and wondering which one would be the best. It’s deep and thought provoking and raises so many serious questions. It will make you love, hate, sympathize, even cry – it will get all these feelings out of you. The emotional factor and the exquisite writing skills of Ms Cohen will literally keep you glued to its pages. I’m sure many women, even if for a moment, will relate to either Claire or Romily (if not with both), and though they may not agree with the choices these women make, they will genuinely care for them. I didn’t like Romily much at the beginning, I admit. I couldn’t understand her reasons for wanting to be a surrogate. I’ve had the chance to discuss this topic with a friend of mine a couple of years ago, and to be honest, though I would never judge anyone for wanting to go through this, I would never be able to be a surrogate. I would never be able to have my dear thing in the womb for 9 months, and unselfishly give it away. Now, some would think this is normal, others would feel it’s selfish… but we’re all different and that’s the beauty of living. Those are the questions the characters in this books ask themselves and those are the challenges they face each day.

Ben is truly a great character, loving and caring, just the type of a man any woman would fall for. He’s so supportive and his desire to become a father was truly heart breaking. But at the same time, all these characters have certain flaws, making them more believable and adding dimension to them. They experience jealousy, fear and competitiveness just like any of us. Ms Cohen really managed to describe all of the turmoil and all their emotions so well, so descriptive.

It’s a truly unique, thought provoking story that will make you think of the most precious things in life, of all the choices you make and of the consequences. Wonderful, deep and emotional, ‘Dear Thing’ is a story that will surprise you, make you think and stay with you for a long time. I can think of million reasons why you should read this book, however can’t think of a single reason why you shouldn’t. ‘Dear Thing’, you’re precious and I love you with all my heart.

My rating: 4/5

GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to lovely Julie and Tess, we have THREE paperbacks of ‘Dear Thing’ to give away. The giveaway is open to UK and rest of Europe and closes on May 21th. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 48 hours to claim their prize by responding to our e-mail. In case we don’t hear from them in 48 h, we’ll have to pick another winner. This Chick Reads is not responsible for the delivering of your prize. Enter through rafflecopter and best of luck!

I agree, quite a difficult topic. I’m the same, I never judge anyone (at least I try really hard) but I couldn’t go through it. I could never even agree to the idea, and from the perspective, this was quite a challenging read. To know I disagree, and yet to be completely immersed in the story. I guess only Julie can pull that off:)

I first thought about this when I watched Phoebe do this in Friends… I admire surrogates, I really do – but I don’t think I could do it… But maybe if it’s a family member/close friend, the decision is made for you when you’ve seen them suffer for so long? No idea..

I think the only way I would go this is if it was for one of my daughters….. I would do anything for them !!
However, now too late as had hysterectomy not long ago due to risk of returning cancer cells. The emotions that accompany pregnancy and the attachment you feel for the child must make things so difficult for surrogates …. Very brave women

What a most precious gift you could give anybody, maybe if I had a sister (which I don’t) and loved her very much, maybe but on the whole NO. Am I selfish??? Not sure but I bond so much with my babies inside me, I just couldn’t. Thinking about it, if I was a younger lady, I would for my daughter……..yikes xxxx